My Album Runner-Ups

THIS page is for my Tier 2 picks which are my TRUE 8s and 9s out of 10. Although they are REALLY good they aren't quite amazing enough to be Tier 1 aka 10/10 material. If you want to browse by decade simply hit "Ctrl+F" and type in what you want (for example - type 198 for the 1980s... 201 for the 2010s... etc). Click the link below for my Tier 3 album picks. Enjoy!

My Tier 3 Picks (6s & 7s out of 10)

Electronic:

Tim Hecker - "Ravedeath, 1972" (2011)

Jazz/Fusion:

Al di Meola - "Casino" (1978)

Bill Evans - “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” (1959)

Buena Vista Social Club - "Buena Vista Social Club" (1997)

Tony Allen - "Rejoice" (2020)

Metal/Hardcore:

Grave - "Into The Grave" (1991)

In Flames - "The Jester Race" (1996)

Mastodon - "Leviathan" (2004)

Necrophagist - "Onset of Putrefaction" (2004)

Pop/R&B:

Frank Sinatra - "Nice 'n' Easy" (1960)

SZA - "CTRL" (2017)

Rap:

3rd Bass - "The Cactus Album" (1989)

Company Flow - “Funcrusher Plus” (1997)

Digable Planets - "Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time & Space)" (1993)

Dizzee Rascal - "Boy in Da Corner" (2003)

Gravediggaz - "6 Feet Deep" (1994)

J. Cole - "4 Your Eyez Only" (2016)

J. Cole - "KOD" (2018)

Kanye West - "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (2010)

Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo - “The Best of Cold Chillin’” (2000)

Organized Konfusion - “Organized Konfusion” (1991)

P.M. Dawn - “Of the Heart, of the Soul & of the Cross: The Utopian Experience” (1991)

Raekwon - "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" (1995)

Slick Rick - "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick" (1988)

Reggae:

The Wailers - “Burnin’” (1973)

Rock/Folk:

10,000 Maniacs - “In My Tribe” (1987)

Albert Collins - “Ice Pickin’” (1978)

Alejandro Escovedo - "Burn Something Beautiful" (2016)

Andrew Bird - "Weather Systems" (2003)

Angel Olsen - "Half Way Home" (2012)

Anika - "Change" (2021)

The Apples in Stereo - "Fun Trick Noisemaker" (1995)

Arctic Monkeys - “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (2006)

The B-52s - "The B-52s" (1979)

B.B. King - “Live in Cook County Jail” (1971)

Badly Drawn Boy - "The Hour of Bewilderbeast" (1999)

Beach House - "Bloom" (2012)

Beck - “Guero” (2005)

Belle & Sebastian - “Dear Catastrophe Waitress” (2003)

Belle & Sebastian - “The Life Pursuit” (2006)

Ben Folds - "Rockin' the Suburbs" (2001)

Big Thief - "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You" (2022)

Black Flag - “Damaged” (1981)

The Black Keys - "Brothers" (2010)

Blood Orange - "Coastal Grooves" (2011)

Bob Mould - "Silver Age" (2012)

BODEGA - “Endless Scroll” (2018)

BODEGA - “Shiny New Model” (2019)

Bruce Springsteen - "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978)

Buddy Holly - “Buddy Holly” (1958)

Built to Spill - "Keep It Like A Secret" (1999)

Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out Of This Country" (2006)

Captain Beefheart - “Safe As Milk” (1967)

Champion Jack Dupree - “Blues from the Gutter” (1958)

Charlie Daniels - "Charlie Daniels" (1970)

Collective Soul - "Collective Soul" (1995)

Courtney Barnett - "Tell Me How You Really Feel" (2018)

Courtney Barnett - "Things Take Time, Take Time" (2021)

Cream - “Gold” (2005)

The Crickets - “The Chirping Crickets” (1957)

Crosby, Stills & Nash - "Crosby, Stills & Nash" (1969)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Deja Vu" (1970)

Dave Matthews Band - "Under the Table & Dreaming" (1994)

Dead Kennedys - “Plastic Surgery Distasters” (1982)

Death Cab for Cutie - “Narrow Stairs” (2008)

Death Cab for Cutie - “Plans” (2005)

The Decemberists - “Castaways & Cutouts” (2002)

Devin Davis - "Lonely People of the World, Unite!" (2005)

Devo - "Freedom of Choice" (1980)

Dillard & Clark - “The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark” (1968)

Ducks Ltd. - "Modern Fiction" (2021)

Elf Power - "Walking with the Beggar Boys" (2004)

Elliott Smith - "Roman Candle" (1994)

Faces - "Long Player" (1971)

The Feelies - "The Good Earth" (1986)

Fenton Robinson - “Somebody Loan Me a Dime” (1974)

Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine" (2005)

Frank Zappa - “Hot Rats” (1969)

The Futureheads - "The Futureheads" (2004)

Graham Parker - "Howlin' Wind" (1976)

Graham Parker - "Squeezin' Out Sparks" (1979)

Grateful Dead - "Workingman's Dead" (1970)

The Guess Who - “Canned Wheat” (1969)

Guster - "Keep It Together" (2003)

Guster - "Lost & Gone Forever" (1999)

The Hives - “Veni Vidi Vicious” (2000)

The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive" (2008)

Hootie & the Blowfish - "Cracked Rear View" (1994)

IDLES - "Crawler" (2021)

The Jam - “In the City” (1977)

Jeff Beck - “Blow by Blow” (1975)

Jen Cloher - "In Blood Memory" (2013)

Jimmy Eat World - "Bleed American" (2001)

Joe Jackson - “Look Sharp!” (1979)

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - “Bluesbreakers” (1966)

John Stewart - “Willard” (1970)

Johnny Winter - “Second Coming” (1969)

Josh White - “Chain Gang Songs” (1958)

Journey - "Escape" (1981)

Luna - "Lunapark" (1992)

Lush - “Split” (1994)

Matchbox 20 - “Yourself or Someone Like You” (1996)

MGMT - "Congratulations" (2010)

Michael Chapman - "Fully Qualified Survivor" (1970)

Moby - "Play" (1999)

Muse - "Absolution" (2004)

Muse - "Origin of Symmetry" (2001)

Nada Surf - "The Weight is a Gift" (2005)

Neil Young - "Rust Never Sleeps" (1979)

The New Pornographers - "Twin Cinema" (2005)

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Let Love In" (1994)

Nine Inch Nails - "Downward Spiral" (1994)

The Ocean Blue - "The Ocean Blue" (1989)

Otis Spann - “Walking the Blues” (1961)

Panda Bear - "Person Pitch" (2007)

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - “The Paul Butterfield Blues Band” (1965)

Pavement - "Slanted & Enchanted" (1992)

PJ Harvey - “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea” (2000)

The Police - "Every Breath You Take: The Classics" (2003)

The Police - "Outlandos D'Amour" (1978)

Rage Against the Machine - "Rage Against the Machine" (1992)

Real Estate - "In Mind" (2017)

R.E.M. - "Document" (1987)

Savages - "Silence Yourself" (2013)

Shopping - "The Official Body" (2018)

Simple Minds - "New Gold Dream" (1982)

Skin Alley - "To Pagham & Beyond" (1970)

Soft Cell - "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret" (1981)

Songs: Ohia - "Magnolia Electric Co." (2003)

Sonic Youth - “The Eternal” (2009)

Spoon - "Gimme Fiction" (2005)

Spoon - “Kill the Moonlight” (2002)

Steve Goodman - “Steve Goodman” (1971)

Sufjan Stevens - "Carrie & Lowell" (2015)

Sunny Day Real Estate - "The Rising Tide" (2000)

Superchunk - "No Pocky for Kitty" (1991)

System of a Down - "Toxicity" (2001)

The Tallest Man On Earth - "Shallow Grave" (2008)

The Tallest Man On Earth - "There's No Leaving Now" (2012)

Tears for Fears - "The Hurting" (1983)

The Telescopes - "Untitled Second" (1992)

Third Eye Blind - "Third Eye Blind" (1997)

Tret Fure - "True Compass" (2007)

The Velvet Underground - “White Light/White Heat” (1968)

Veronica Falls - "Veronica Falls" (2011)

The War On Drugs - "Lost in the Dream" (2014)

The Wedding Present - "Seamonsters" (1991)

Weezer - "Green Album" (2001)

Wilco - "Being There" (1996)

William Clarke - "Blowin' Like Hell" (1990)

Wipers - "Is This Real?" (1980)

Zero Zero - "A.M. Gold" (2001)